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Zillow faces class-action lawsuit for non-payment of overtime

On behalf of Law Offices of Louis Spitters posted in Wage & Hour Laws on Tuesday, March 8, 2016.

It is not uncommon for California businesses to face busy periods that may require employees to work some extra hours. However, if any of these hours should result in overtime, they should be paid as such and failure to do so may rightfully result in payment disputes by shortchanged employees. Popular real estate website Zillow has been accused by one of its employees of not paying overtime and other labor violations.

The plaintiff alleges that Zillow coerced employees to work through their rest periods, come in early and stay late without being compensated. According to the complaint, Zillow would have periods when employees were required to furiously make sales calls without stopping. This included working through their breaks and lunches.

Prior to the lawsuit, the claimant alleges that the hours the employees worked were automatically calculated without overtime. Although Zillow contends that 26 workers received overtime in 2015, arguably there is no proof that they were ever paid overtime until the lawsuit. After over a year, a judge certified the case against Zillow as class-action, allowing other similarly situated California workers to join without filing separate complaints. Zillow contends that the claims are baseless.

Workers who feel that they have been denied payment for overtime may first consider speaking to their employers about the discrepancy in an attempt to have it resolved. If an agreeable solution is not reached, the workers may choose to take legal action and seek out an employment law attorney to advise them on how to go forward. In successful cases, claimants may receive any unpaid overtime, as required by applicable law, as well as any other monetary damages that are awarded by the court.

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